ABOUT THE PROJECT
About PianoLookup
PianoLookup is a reference tool for estimating the production year of an acoustic piano from its manufacturer and serial number.
What PianoLookup is designed to do
The database organizes historical piano serial-number ranges by manufacturer and, where the underlying data supports it, by factory, production series or letter prefix. The lookup compares the entered serial number with those stored ranges and returns the year or year range supported by the data.
The goal is to make historical serial tables easier to search while preserving important distinctions between different numbering systems.
What a result means
A matching result is an estimate based on a historical serial-number range. It does not by itself prove the exact manufacturing date, factory configuration, originality, condition or market value of an individual instrument.
Some manufacturers used overlapping sequences, separate factories or numbering systems that changed over time. When more than one interpretation is supported, PianoLookup is intended to show possible matches rather than force a single unsupported answer.
Important: PianoLookup is an independent reference project. It is not an appraisal, authentication or manufacturer warranty service.
How the database improves
Coverage varies by manufacturer. Some brands have long, detailed production histories; others are represented by only a small number of surviving ranges. The database can be expanded or corrected as better historical information becomes available.
For a detailed explanation of how ranges, prefixes, factories and confidence are interpreted, see the PianoLookup methodology.